Minimalistic Weapon of Self-Destruction - 98%

It was the philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, who said poetry is a “darkening of being”. The poetical and general aesthetical is to be found everywhere and it is important to remember that these days art is not so much visible anymore – there is no direct message that is communicated, rather it relies much more on subjective expression, abstract concepts, the ontological question concerning alternative realities etc. This is precisely what I picked up while listening to this album.

From the very first note, you can hear, feel and sense the “darkening of being”. It is very intensive from the start right through to the end. The vocals are very haunting and there is a general minimalist approach with this album – the band does not rely very strongly on the thundering of instruments. In contrast to most other modern day metal bands, the drums are quite soft and gentle. The bass is very prominent, while the guitar is a bit more on the background, yet still clearly present. This band actually proves that you can do a lot with very little. They are not trying to manipulate the listener with loudness and all sorts of bombastic concepts. Rather, they place their full emphasis and focus on emotion, which is precisely what music is supposed to be – something that addresses the emotional states of the human being.

Instead of seeing it as an album with individual tracks, this album is rather a coherent force that takes the listener on one hell of an emotional journey. The way in which every track starts is also very gripping, since the music has a dark aura that complements the horrific and painful screams of the vocalist. I think the feature of this album that I appreciate the most, is the honesty. This band does not want to conform to a specific cluster where they are polishing their egos. Rather, they want to dwell within the honest expression of emotion and stream of consciousness.

It is almost as if the vocalist is emptying himself of every drop of blood. He reincarnates as a being whose heart is pumping raw, black streams of suicide and depression. The speakers or the headphones over which you are listening transforms into the jaws of the abyss – spewing and vomiting an odyssey of unimaginable pain.

It is also as if the sound in general has a symbolic value concerning the distanced distortion – just as the muffled distortion is an anomaly which feels cold and distant, so the emotional plains of despair is a cold and distant dimension where the only solution is suicide.